Verona football probe surprises some former players

On Friday, Oct. 13, several Verona football players' parents cheered for their sons at the high school as the latter team boarded the bus for North Warren. The district is reviewing a matter regarding the football program.
Robert Aitken, Jr/NorthJersey.com

Head coach Lou Racioppe, shown during an October game, was suspended by the Verona Board of Education after complaints by student players and their parents about his behavior.(Photo: northjersey.com)

The Verona Board of Education picked up its review Tuesday of a matter involving the Verona High School football program, according to Board President John Quattrocchi.

Verona High School head football coach Lou Racioppe was not at the helm of last Friday’s matchup at North Warren due to the situation, for which the details are undisclosed, Quattrocchi told NorthJersey.com.

For the time being, the Verona football season is proceeding as scheduled under interim coach Ray Bowes, noted the board president. He is expected to coach the Hillbillies this weekend, as they host Butler in their first home game since Racioppe was relieved of his duties.

The Board of Education’s review was expected to be completed on Oct. 12, Quattrocchi said. However, it was delayed, awaiting the New Jersey Education Association’s involvement regarding assistant coaches, who also teach, he noted.

"We must continue to follow our process diligently, and we will not comment on matters of personnel," Quattrocchi stated in an email on Wednesday.

Reactions

"Coach Racioppe doesn't deserve this," Mark Riggio, who played running back and linebacker for Verona through the 2015 season, told NorthJersey.com. "He is truly a great guy and great coach. It goes beyond the football field."

"I was so happy to play for him for four years. He was a life coach. He taught me how to be a man," observed Riggio, who now plays football at Muhlenberg College in Pennsylvania.

"It caught everybody off guard," the former Hillbiilly said of the district's investigation.

Riggio NEWARK, NJ 10/11/14. Verona running back Mark Riggio as seen during an October 2014 game against Newark West Side.(Photo: NorthJersey.com file photo)

Although he said he was unaware of incident details, Riggio said Racioppe "is a tough high school football coach, which he's supposed to be. I think people didn't respond well to that, which doesn't make sense to me."

Another former player, Bobby Kaslander III, who graduated in 2011, was also surprised.

"I am extremely saddened and utterly disappointed to hear of the recent suspension of head coach Lou Racioppe," Kaslander III wrote in a letter to Schools Superintendent Rui Dionisio and VHS Principal Josh Cogdill. "As a former player under Coach Rac and Dan Corrado, I can assure you that whatever accusations were made against them are completely out of line and misleading.

"Football is not a sport for everyone. It's a brutal game that requires countless hours of practice and sacrifice. It's a sport that only the mentally and physically tough can endure. Unless you have first hand experience being a part of a team, you will never fully understand what that entails.

"Whether or not Coach Rac and staff seemed 'tough' or 'hard' on the kids, the Verona football staff would never do anything to physically harm one of their players. Everything they do, is for the betterment of the kids."

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Longtime fans

Five family members have played under Racioppe."There's never been any issue other than [Raccioppe] being a tough football coach," Eileen told NorthJersey.com.

In an email to Dionisio, Cogdill and Athletic Director Robert Merkler, she questioned reports that the players were asked questions and signed off on their answers without their parents' presence or consent.

"Coach Racioppe and staff have coached and mentored hundreds of Verona football players. There have been and are currently scores of his student athletes playing in college," Eileen writes. "Coach Racioppe still texts these players before their game weekends to wish them well."

Merkler referred a reporter’s questions to Dionisio.

Dionisio, Racioppe and Christopher Tamburro, the local teachers union president, could not be reached for comment.

Last week's game

Last Friday afternoon, about 25 to 30 of the Verona football players’ parents cheered for their sons at the high school as they boarded the bus for North Warren. They won the game 40-0.